Post Sortie. Wal Bowles (Far Left) and Phil Zupp (Far Right)

Flight Safety…and other Childhood Memories.

The conversations around my home as a boy greatly influenced my outlook on aviation, although I wasn’t aware of that fact at the time. My Godfather, Wal Bowles, was the Senior Investigator with the Bureau of Air Safety Investigations (BASI), or as we know it today, a section of the ATSB.

Wal had been a new “Bog Rat” squadron pilot and flown with my father after he had returned from active service in the Korean War. After Wal left the Air Force, he flew for Ad Astra before eventually becoming an air safety investigator. In that role, Wal would often come by our home and discuss recent accidents with my father to gain some insight. Dad had flown around 100 types of aircraft including many of the new civil types arriving in Australia. The discussions would range from the technical aspects of operation, cockpit layout and what we now call, “Human Factors”.

All the while I sat quietly on the small ottoman in the corner, between the fireplace and the telephone table. I would often read the Aviation Safety Digest magazines, or “crash comics”, but eavesdropping on these two experienced aviators was a rare education. Uncle Wal would lay out the technical data, such as distance between propeller blade strikes on a tree or the fuel selector position. Ultimately, he would ask dad, “What do you think happened?”

The subsequent “to and fro” between them was fascinating to me, even with my limited understanding at that age. Their passion was also memorable as that sought answers in an effort to avoid the same outcome ever happening again. I never heard them blame a pilot, call them an idiot, or anything similar – they were too focused on the “why?”. Undoubtedly, there were instances of oversight, neglect or error but merely pointing a finger didn’t help the next pilot who found themselves in the same spot – alone at night with sweat on their brow and ice on their wings.

That education has stayed with me and been a prime motivator in continuing to serve as a flight instructor in addition to my airline flying. At age sixty, as my retirement from the airlines looms, I will continue to pursue my passion for flight training. And while I may not possess the wealth of experience that dad and Uncle Wal possessed, hopefully I have learned something worth passing on from my 23,000 hours across around 100 types.

We never stop learning in aviation and flight safety should always remain at the forefront of our minds. I look forward to what the future holds and the opportunity to keep “giving back” to the industry that has done so much for me.